What is the National Drink of India – Milk, Tea or Coffee?

A cup of tea or coffee is what gets everyone’s morning going but what is the National Drink of India?

Say Cheers to India’s National Drink

Time to say cheers to India’s National Drink but how many of you know what’s the National Drink of India?

Reports are suggesting that tea is likely to bag this tag next year, based on Deputy chairman of The Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, recent announcement in Jorhat ( Assam), the tea capital of India.

It seems tea will be given the status of India’s national drink by April next year. While fans of the humble chai rejoiced, coffee lovers fumed and milk suppliers let things simmer a bit before causing a storm in a tea cup, with the suggestion that milk not chai, should be given the honour.

But then there is a bit of history behind why people are suggesting Tea.

It is to celebrate the life of a pioneering tea-planter who was hanged by British colonial rulers for taking part in the rebellion of 1857.

Assam was the home state of Maniram Dewan, who is celebrated for introducing commercial tea production to the region and for his role in a plot to throw the British out of Assam during the 1857 mutiny. The uprising, which is often called the Sepoy Mutiny, started in Meerut, a city close to New Delhi, and spread across northern India before being brutally crushed by British forces with many Indian soldiers and civilians killed.

And that’s why Mr. Ahluwalia suggested that Tea would be accorded the National Drink status in 2012 to coincide with the 212th birth anniversary of first Assamese tea-planter and Sepoy Mutiny leader Maniram Dewan.

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